Agenda and minutes

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 July 2016, be agreed as a correct record.

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The Chairman introduced the item which summarises the Pension Fund investment manager performance for April to June quarter 2016 and was reported to the Pension Fund Committee (PFC) on 31 October 2016.

The Head of Treasury Services, Iain Millar presented the report to the Board and provided a summary of the discussion had by Members at the meeting of the Pension Fund Committee. He drew the Board’s attention to Appendix C which detailed the position of the total value of Assets in the LB Barnet Pension Fund excluding cash balances as at 30 September 2016. He informed the Board that there had been an improvement in the fund’s performance which had benefited from increased exposure to Legal and General.

It was RESOLVED –

That the Board noted and provided comments on the Barnet Council Pension Fund Performance for Quarter April to July 2016.

Iain Millar presented the report. In response to a query raised by the Board he informed them that expenses incurred by the Pension Board incurs were met by LBB Pension Fund and that up to 25k is put aside for administration costs.  Final approval of the Board’s work plan and budget is given by Barnet Pension Fund Committee and this is done annually.

At the Board’s requested, Mr Millar agreed where practical to inform Board Members when free training sessions relevant to the Board’s remit become available. [action] 

To get a better understanding of their budget and allocation the Board requests if officers could provide details of last financial year’s budget and how much was spent. [action] 

It was RESOLVED –

That the Board noted the proposed Pension Board budget for 2016-17.

Iain Millar introduced the report and informed the Board that the accounts had now been approved by BDO the Pension Fund’s appointed external auditors who replaced Grant Thornton.

Mr Stephen Ross queried whether the auditors comments, on page 59 under the heading ‘Key Audit and Accounting Matters’ should be cause of concern.

Mr Millar, advised that the accounts were correct having been approved by the previous auditors, Grant Thornton. He clarified that some adjustment was required following inspection of the accounts by BDO along with some further detail. He clarified that this had been resolved and the accounts approved by BDO.

It was RESOLVED:

That the Board noted and provided comment on the Annual Report and Pension Fund Accounts 2015/16.

Iain Millar introduced the report which set out a training policy for the Pension Fund Committee applicable to both the Members of the Pension Fund Committee and the Local Pension Board and officers responsible for supporting the Fund.

The Board requested if officers could investigate what other Local Pension Boards with regards to training and if feasible or practical consider holding a collective training session. [action]

It was RESOLVED:

That the Board noted and provided comment on the Training Policy and Knowledge Understanding and Skills Framework.

The Head of Treasury Services introduced the report which provided the Board with an update position on admitted bodies participating in the Local Government Pension Scheme administered by the London Borough of Barnet.

He informed the Board that the Pension Fund Committee had raised concerns about having admitted bodies that did not have Bonds in place and the risk if the employer went into receivership. The Committee requested assurance that all employers were paid up and that those who did not have a Bond in place, their contributions were paid up to date.

The Chairman queried what impact the possible large Street Scene re-procurement would have.

Mr Millar confirmed that staff would not transfer out of the Pension Fund; liability would transfer to the new employer which would become an admitted body of the Pension Fund.

The Board queried why some employers’ ‘Bond Tag’ was red. Mr Millar clarified the red status indicated a lack of response or delay from the employer at the time of writing the report on information requested. It did not indicate the employer being at risk. He confirmed that at the meeting of Pension Fund Committee, Members were provided with the current position which was that the information was now up to date.

It was further queried why for Cambridge Education (Mott Macdonald) (Education and Skills LBOB non-catering) no bond was required. Mr Millar advised he would check the bond arrangements in place and update the Board. [action]

It was RESOLVED:

That the Board noted and provided comment on the Admitted Bodies Organisations.

The Chairman introduced the Forward Plan which is a standing item on the agenda and lists the items for 2016/17.

The Governance Officer informed the Board that to ensure they are operating effectively, officers have proposed developing a more comprehensive work programme focusing on (but not exclusively) the following areas;

·                     training, knowledge and understanding

·                     Avoiding any conflicts of interest

·                     Ensuring its own statutory compliance

·                     Checking fund governance

·                     Reviewing fund risks and internal systems and controls

·                     Checking fund external advisors/service providers and their internal controls

·                     Reviewing fund member record keeping

·                     Checking fund contributions

·                     Reviewing fund administration

·                     Benchmarking fund performance and Value for Money (VFM)

·                     Fraud prevention

·                     Employer and member communications

·                     Complaints and dispute resolution

·                     Reporting regulatory breaches

In addition this would tie into areas of development already identified by the Board in previous items, namely;

1          Identifying any areas of financially material breaches/ areas of regulatory non-compliance that need remediation action

2)         Identifying the underlying causes of fund non-compliance and helping ensure rectification plans are being carried out to agreed timescales – for example in relation to:

3)         Wherever possible undertake joint training and demonstrate it has a positive role in helping the fund deliver good-best practice relative to other LGPS funds.

The detailed development of the plan would be carried out in consultation with the Chairman. The Board agreed

It was RESOLVED:

1.            That the Committee considered and comment on the items included in the 2016- 17 work programme.

2.            That officers in consultation with the Chairman develop a work programme as detailed above.

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